


They Come Hand in Hand

by Alyss_Penedo



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: 3rd person, Attempted Patricide, F/M, Genocide, Gift Fic, Kind-of, Minor Character Death, OOC, Slow Updates, Something-icide in which you accidentally kill your idiot son, Telling not Showing, Zeno gets laid, don't regret it, eventually, fine maybe a liiiiittle bit, not even a little bit, okay not really but it's implied, tags how do you even, taking a stab in the dark at canon, the plot bunnies made me do it, to a ridiculous degree, vague violence of the canon-sort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-17
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-03-23 05:29:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3756184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alyss_Penedo/pseuds/Alyss_Penedo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The children of the first dragon warriors all carry the potential to awaken the power of the dragon's blood within them. However, for the children of Ouryuu, whose true power lies in the wisdom only possible through an eternity's experience, this manifests a bit differently.</p><p>Or: why Ouryuu doesn't actually have a village.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hisazuki](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Hisazuki).



> A gift-fic for Hisazuki (my first one, so naturally I'm convinced it's terrible and should never have been written T_T). Happy latelatelate birthday!  
> If you've never heard of her and are still inexplicably in this fandom, then I pity you poor, bereft souls. Where have you all been getting your AnY fix, if not her wonderful, miraculously up-to-date chapter summaries on Tumblr?
> 
> Warnings: spoilers for everything Zeno, basically. Some OOC behaviour. I am probably (sometimes purposefully) butchering a few choice bits of canon (or mangling them beyond recognition; bit of a toss-up there), but this is how my head(-canon, my head-canon, totally what I meant) works. The plunny for this actually bit me before I read the latest AnY chapter, so... yeah, this is a bit AU. I tweaked it to fit 104 better, but Kaya's terminal illness is now more genetic than contagious, and the villagers avoid her because they're silly folks who mistakenly think stupidity is a pathogen. Or something.
> 
> *A side note: So, as far as canon has shown, Zeno has basically lived a bajillion or so years without ever getting laid.  
> O_o  
> What. WHAT.  
> Canon!Zeno is asexual and nothing short of his descendants showing up in the manga will convince me otherwise.
> 
> **An actual note-thing: The beginning is half ripped-off from AnY scandalations, half complete and utter BS that I pulled out of faux-philosomething when I was too lazy to look up the proper relevant section in the manga. The actual dragons (as in, the blood donors themselves) are referred to as Color Dragon and the humans-turned-professional-butt-kicker as Something-ryuu.
> 
> ***Another kinda actual-note thing: I do not own Akatsuki no Yona, and make no (monetary) profit off writing this. Actually, I'm not sure if I even really own this fic either, given that it's a gift. Does that make it Hisazuki's?  
> *Has no idea how this giftfic stuff works*

_A long time ago, the Red Dragon God took on a human form and walked this earth as a man. He became the one known as Hiryuu, and as the incarnation of the Red Dragon possessed great strength of will--strength enough to carve out a kingdom in the lands of men. At his side stood four human warriors, each given gifts by the Dragon Gods._

_The White Dragon gave Hakuryuu the claws to do._  
_The Green Dragon gave Ryokuryuu the freedom to go._  
_The Blue Dragon gave Seiryuu the eyes to judge.  
_ _And The Yellow Dragon gave Oury-_

(I know this already. Isn't this supposed to be the start of a new story?)  
(Didn't I say 'no interruptions'? Shush.)

_And the one called Ouryuu was granted the wisdom to guide._ _Together, the four of them followed Hiryuu and they founded what became the Kouka kingdom._

_...But this is not their tale. This is a tale that comes after--when Ouryuu, the warrior of the Yellow Dragon, was the last._

* * *

Now, by the very nature of his power, Ouryuu could not be allowed to die. Wisdom, especially that befitting a dragon god, is not something so easily granted to humans. Indeed, it is something that can only truly be had with the knowledge and experience of life, in all its' twists and struggles and wonders. And so there came a time when the other dragon warriors of his generation had passed on, and the one called Ouryuu found himself alone in the world.

He traveled. The loss of his King and his brothers left him bereft, and though he stayed as long as he could bear, ensuring that the kingdom his master and brothers fought for was secure, he eventually left their castle to escape the memories and roamed the land as a wandering spirit.

In his travels, he met a woman. She was called Kaya, and was very kind. But she was also deathly ill, and this kept her removed from the people in her village; she was very weak and in constant danger of simply passing away, and none sought to approach her. And so the two bonded over their loneliness, and he decided that he would help her. So he went and worked, and what he earned he spent on any treatments he could find for her illness. Under his care, she grew strong enough to escape Death's threshold, and they spent much of their days together in contentment and tranquility.

Time passed, and as such things usually go, they fell in love. He proposed, and she agreed to marry him. They were quietly wed, and their abode on the outskirts of civilization was filled with cheer and happiness for a long time after.

Soon, she came to bear him a son. He was unexpected, small and sickly in the way of his mother, but they loved him very much and did their utmost to care for him. When it became clear that he would always be weak and ill-suited to life alone, they finally decided to settle properly and brought their aimless days to a halt. And so Kaya bore him another child, a healthy daughter this time, and they named her Ayumi. She was quiet and obedient, and cared greatly for her parents.

Kaya soon had a second son, who grew to be ambitious and dutiful and did his best to make up for what he came to see as his elder brother's weakness. And not long after, a she had a third as well, who was spirited and fun-loving and freedom incarnate. They all moved to a new, larger home, closer to the village. And so the one called Ouryuu found another, different sort of family, and he was content.

Now, if this were a happy tale, he and Kaya would grow old and grey together, surrounded by their children and grandchildren and perhaps even their great-grandchildren, and they would pass on within a week of each other and be buried side-by-side.

_(But it's not, right, Dad?)_  
_(Hush now. But yes.)_

They grew distant from each other, as the years passed. Not that they loved each other any less, but Ouryuu could not age, while Kaya grew worn and weary as time went on. The difference showed. The villagers, too, were starting to notice the oddity of his face, unlined by the years, and there was only so long that he could deflect suspicions. So one day he woke his wife and his first son, who had by now grown of age to truly understand the meaning of farewell. He quietly bid them take care of the family until his return, kissed each brow of his three slumbering children, and returned to life on the road in the early hours of false dawn.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An abridged Next Few Decades.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live. And, for no real reason whatsoever, have a chapter.

The family coped with his departure in their own ways.

Kaya never understood why she had not been entrusted with the the secret of Ouryuu's immortality. Ever since she'd noticed it, she had been patiently biding her time, waiting for her beloved to trust her with the tale of how he came to never age, never pressing for answers. To be left behind in such a manner hurt her, and she withdrew into the world of herself and, occasionally, her children.

The first son took his father's words to heart, and did his best to take up the role of supporting the family. He was still weak, but he had been cared for as his mother had not in her young age, and was very determined. He traveled a bit, searching for work in the nearby villages, and did many jobs while steadily branching out --a few friends in a neighboring village who knew when he would come around and what things he could do, a handful of contacts in the city that would buy when he had things in bulk to sell, etc. Without quite intending to, he gave more and of his attention and energy to his work, and soon could only come home infrequently, more often simply sending letters and the money he pushed himself to earn.

The second son grew bitter. His own father had not deemed him worthy of a goodbye, and the perceived slight stung. What made the wound fester, though, was the fact that his older brother --the weak, sickly disappointment he quickly came to see his brother as-- had been personally entrusted with the welfare of the family by their father. So he soon went out and sought work as well, going to the nearest port city and always trying to outdo his brother --to work harder and better, to earn more, to meet and eventually employ more people. He went out of his way to ensure the care of their mother and siblings as well; perhaps once out of love, but now of spite. The rest of the family soon stopped seeing him entirely, unless there was an event he felt duty-bound to attend, and instead received only messages and presents.

The third son grew selfish. He was not yet of an age where he could go as he pleased, like his brothers, and found himself left at home with the women of the house while his father and brothers went on to do bigger and better things. His wanderlust, once vague and easily satisfied, flared up and chafed against the stifling idea of 'home'. So he indulged himself as much as he could in his roaming, reveled in sneaking off to neighboring villages and learning how best to be underfoot. It grew to the point that he would return only to sleep and occasionally eat, while promising himself that he would leave his little hometown and see the world as soon as he was old enough.

Ayumi grew quiet with the sudden, inexplicable loss of her father. She turned to her siblings and found them distant, either in body or in spirit. So she latched on to her once-loving mother --now so, so cold-- as her one solid point. She stayed and cared for the grieving woman and the childhood home of her brothers; always waiting for someone to remember them and come back.

And so it came to be that whenever the one called Ouryuu visited, there was often only his daughter and aging wife to greet him.

* * *

(Dad, could you pass me that bag?)  
(Here. Have you been paying attention? It's your job to repeat this to your brother.)  
(Yes, I'm listening. But if I don't start packing soon, I might forget things tomorrow. It's growing dark.)  
(True.)

 _The first time the one called Ouryuu returned for a visit was nearly half  a year after he'd left. That first day, Kaya came alive again and it was as if he'd never gone at all, even if there were only the four of them at the time. But on the second day, the third son asked if his father would take him wandering when he left again. Kaya overheard, and her heart frosted over again, though she hid it when her husband was watching._ _Ouryuu told him that he was still too young, refusing his son's request, and Ayumi's when she asked him to stay. And on the third dawn, he went on his way again, face still unlined and manner untroubled._

_This final refusal, following requests made to both his older brothers --neither of which had agreed to take their little brother out to see the world, too focused on their rivalry and work-- marked the beginning of the third son's bitterest years. He started staying out later and pushing his boundaries, bleeding resentment and desiring independence more than anything. The very day he decided he was able to take care of himself, he gathered his things and left; his thirteenth birthday was spent walking the long, empty roads to anywhere, and filled with not looking back._

_And so went Ouryuu's visits to the three (which soon became two) in the following years; leaving for months and then years at a time, never lingering for long despite --or perhaps because of-- how very much his wife and daughter wanted him to stay. Eventually, his two oldest sons began to forget ever knowing their father, except in the vaguest of recollections._

_This became especially true when the time came that Kaya finally passed away, stolen by age and illness and surrounded by her oldest children, and yet the man she'd loved did not come. There was no father at their mother's deathbed, no youngest son at her funeral, and after they'd buried their mother both sons bitterly decided that neither their youngest nor their absent father were welcome back until they'd apologized to Kaya. Ayumi did not agree, because she still remembered that their father loved them and wished for his return, but her brothers were adamant. They fought then, standing in the house they'd grown up in; the first son disillusioned with betrayal and the second seething with righteous anger and Ayumi standing steadfast, as patient as she'd always been through the doubts and disappointments. Her brothers soon returned to their own lives --the first to the traveling merchants, the second to the port city-- and left her with her husband in the village of their birth. She resolved to wait for her father, because she had seen that he did not age and believed he would not forget them._

_So she waited, and lived, and had children. Years passed. But still the one called Ouryuu did not return._

* * *

It was the second son who noticed first. He'd established himself in the ports that traded with Kouka's neighbors, and did well for himself through means that were... not always as safe or legal as he'd once led his mother and sister to believe, though he knew his older brother suspected him. He'd always been possessed of a sharp mind, his wits and instincts honed by years of dealing in shadows, and it was no surprise that one day, he looked at himself, and realized he saw a man still in the cusp of his adulthood, untouched by time. It began as a suspicion, but one he grew concerned about. So he sought out his siblings, for the first time in the many years since they'd grown apart, and found them also as young as he'd last seen them. His suspicion blossomed into worry (though not, it should be known, necessarily for _them_ , because he was well aware that any trouble raised over this could affect him as well), and he spent some time both plotting and making  _sure._

And so it happened that, some time after he came to this realization, he called out his siblings alone and under the cover of darkness, and shared his thoughts with them. That they were years younger than they should be. That they healed from wounds and burns with a quickness that bordered unnatural. That they were, quite possibly,  _immortal._ And, most importantly of all, that they must hide this, must _tell no one,_  and he gave them means to do so. Taught them how to line their faces with make-up, to observe the older men and women around them and imitate their mannerisms, to  _hide_.

And during this time, while they learned and struggled with their secrets together, they grew closer than they had been in years. It had been a bitter time, but now it seemed that her brothers were finally laying old rilvalries to rest, and they stood united in something once more. It was comforting. And eventually Ayumi found herself sharing with her brothers, for the first time, how she had seen that their father did not age also, and that perhaps he might know  _why._

(And she began to watch her children closely; her still not quite grown, still innocent and carefree young ones. And she wondered, and worried, and waited. As always.)

And so more time passed, and they coped, and they returned to their own lives-- newly burdened, closer for it, and now keeping a careful eye out for either their father or their youngest. Neither of them were found, but eventually they all settled into their uneasy immortality.

It caught them off guard, then, when the news came that one of them had died the following year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologizes; did not mean to take so long with the chapter, but it wasn't cooperating with me.
> 
> I'm curious; does anyone have any idea where I'm trying to go with this fic? Or does it merely register as so much history right now?

**Author's Note:**

> More to come when I get to writing it up; I just wanted to throw this out there since I've already missed the actual birthday date by a wide margin...


End file.
